High-priced escort from Folsom arrested for murder

An admitted high-priced escort is facing murder charges after being arrested by undercover officers.

Alix Tichleman, 26, of Folsom was arrested in Santa Cruz July 4 in connection with the death of 51-year-old Forest Hayes.

Santa Cruz police said Tichleman met Hayes at a Santa Cruz docked yacht the night of Nov. 23, 2013. Tichleman is suspected of injecting Hayes with heroin and leaving after he passed out and died. She was identified as a suspect when police learned she had an ongoing prostitution relationship with the victim.

Detectives said Tichleman met many of her clients on the website SeekingArrangement, where "sugar babies" can find their "sugar daddies" and vice versa.

During interviews with investigators, Tichleman boasted about having more than 200 client relationships.

Police obtained surveillance video from onboard the yacht that shows the suspect leaving the scene the night of the crime.

"She was so callous in gathering her things, she was literally stepping over the body and at one point, stepped over the body to grab a glass of wine and finish the glass of wine in the process of this, all the while the victim is dying at her feet," Santa Cruz Police Deputy Chief Steve Clark said. "She showed no regard for the victim, she showed no attempt to even try to render aid or get aid there to assist him."

Detectives tracked down Tichleman online, but they feared she was going to leave the state. So they lured her back to Santa Cruz by posing as a potential client. Undercover officers met her at an upscale location in Santa Cruz and made the arrest.

Tichleman faces second-degree murder charges, but she is also being investigated for a similar homicide that happened out of state.